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Early childhood, individualized learning among themes for Boulder Valley goals

By Amy Bounds Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
11/21/2012 06:24:40 PM MST

Updated:
11/21/2012 06:25:09 PM MST

As the Boulder Valley school board develops new district goals, themes that community members want to see incorporated include more individualized learning, more focus on early childhood and less dependence on test scores to measure success.

Altogether, 112 community members, students, educators and school board members participated in a 12-hour community listening session, held over two days earlier this month. A report on the session, released this week, will serve as the basis for goal development at a school board work session set for 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Concerns highlighted in the report include that the district is making little progress in closing the achievement gap, that older students are too stressed and that there's not enough sharing of what works among schools.

Participants said they want to see the Boulder Valley School District become the first large district to close the achievement gap for poor and minority students, to be recognized as a model for creativity and innovation and to focus on student strengths instead of weaknesses.

They also want an early childhood education system with at least one preschool classroom in every elementary school, along with a commitment to focus on each child's individual needs -- from those who are gifted to those who are below grade level.

Participant Chris Barge, director of the school readiness initiative at the Community Foundation serving Boulder County, was among those who proposed kindergarten readiness and reading at grade level by third grade as goals.

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"We see a lot of potential for this community to really move the achievement gap for the first time," he said.

He said he appreciated that the session honored the diverse perspectives of those who attended.

"I'm hopeful and inspired by the decision to take an out-of-the-box approach," he said. "A lot is on the line, especially improving outcomes for kids who are most at risk."

Another participant, Louisville parent Debra Goldberg, said she attended to represent the gifted community. Gifted students, she said, are routinely discriminated against in schools and, by not being challenged, aren't learning important life skills like perseverance.

"I came out of it thinking that we were all saying many of the same things," she said. "We have kids not being looked at as the individuals that they are. We really need to be open to find ways to individualize learning."

Once the school board and superintendent reach consensus on a proposed set of long-range goals, the goals will be shared for comment at the "BVSD Listens" website, bvsdlistens.com. In-person community engagement sessions, including one in Spanish, are planned in January.

Superintendent Bruce Messinger said he was pleased with the quantity and diversity of the input. He said he also liked that he and the board members could sit with different groups as they talked through their ideas.

"It really put us in a listening mode," he said. "We wanted to hear those values."

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